Lyndon Baines Johnson: The first HispanicLatino — and black — President

Years ago, when Bill Clinton was styled as America’s first black President, more than a few Americans, knowing it to be hyperbole, were tolerantly amused.  It was fun to appreciate the direct connection the African American community and he shared but, of course, along came Barack Obama.  My bemusement at the Clinton pretext stemmed from the wanton disregard of Lyndon Johnson’s role in cracking open the world for African Americans – and HispanicLatinos simultaneously.  After decades of oppression, minority communities began to emerge from their suppressed selves because of Johnson.  LBJ was America’s first black president politically and America’s first HispanicLatino president, to boot.

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